Trip to space in July: Ticket for a seat next to Jeff Bezos sells for $28 mn
Blue Origin did not disclose the winner's name following the live online auction.
By PTI |
Reuters
More than 20 bidders - the high rollers - took part in Saturday's auction.
CAPE CANAVERAL: An auction for a ride into space next month alongside Jeff Bezos and his brother ended with a winning $28 million bid Saturday.
The Amazon founder's rocket company, Blue Origin, did not disclose the winner's name following the live online auction. The identity will be revealed in a couple of weeks - closer to the brief up-and-down flight from West Texas on July 20, the 52nd anniversary of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's moon landing.
It will be the first launch of Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket with people on board, kicking off the company's space tourism business. Fifteen previous test flights of the reusable rocket and capsule since 2015 - short hops lasting about 10 minutes - were all successful.
Blue Origin has yet to open ticket sales to the public or divulge prices. Saturday's auction followed more than a month of online bidding that reached $4.8 million by Friday. More than 7,500 people from 159 countries registered to bid, according to Blue Origin. More than 20 bidders - the high rollers - took part in Saturday's auction.
Bezos announced Monday that he and his younger brother, Mark, would be on board New Shepard's first crew flight; the news quickly boosted bidding. The winning amount is being donated to Blue Origin's Club for the Future, an educational effort to promote science and tech among young people.
The completely automated capsule can carry up to six passengers, each with their own big window. Blue Origin's top sales director, Ariane Cornell, said following the auction that the fourth and final seat on the debut crew flight will be announced soon.
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Blue Origin has yet to open ticket sales to the public or divulge prices.
An Indian Restaurant Owner Tried Sending Samosa To Space; Other Food Items That Have Been Sent To The Great Beyond
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Indian restaurant owner, Niraj Gadher, who runs Chai Walla in Bath, likes to think big. And that’s why he sent a samosa into space. While his first two attempts to launch the savoury snack into the great beyond ended in failure, it looks like the third time was the charm – sort of.
Gadher managed to get the samosa up, up, up and away but then lost track of the snack when the GPS signal failed. However, after returning to Earth the following day, the GPS tracker revealed that the package had made its way across southern England, crossed the Channel and had crash landed in Caix in northern France. However, the samosa isn’t the strangest thing to be sent into space. Read on to find out what strange items mankind has sent up into space.
Indian restaurant owner, Niraj Gadher, who runs Chai Walla in Bath, likes to think big. And that’s why he sent a samosa into space. While his first two attempts to launch the savoury snack into the g..
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While this order would not have taken 30 minutes or less, in 2001, Pizza Hut became the first company to deliver a pizza into space. The brand struck a deal with the Russian space agency Roscosmos to have a pizza delivered to Russian cosmonaut Yuri Usachov at the International Space Station (ISS). The delivery was reportedly worth $1 million at the time.
While this order would not have taken 30 minutes or less, in 2001, Pizza Hut became the first company to deliver a pizza into space. The brand struck a deal with the Russian space agency Roscosmos to..
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In 2010, SpaceX launched a wheel of Gruyère cheese into space. While CEO Elon Musk was secretive about the cargo at first, once the mission was accomplished he revealed that it was in homage to a Monty Python skit where John Cleese tries to order cheese from a cheeseless cheese shop.
In 2010, SpaceX launched a wheel of Gruyère cheese into space. While CEO Elon Musk was secretive about the cargo at first, once the mission was accomplished he revealed that it was in homage to a Mon..
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In 2019, lab grown meat made its debut aboard the International Space Station. Israel-based startup Aleph Farms created the world's first steak grown inside a laboratory and decided to send it out into the atmosphere. They sent the necessary tools as well and the astronaut had to make a piece of steak using cow cells and a 3D printer.
In 2019, lab grown meat made its debut aboard the International Space Station. Israel-based startup Aleph Farms created the world's first steak grown inside a laboratory and decided to send it out in..
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Coca-Cola and Pepsi took their rivalry into the great beyond. In 1985, modified cans carried both companies' fizzy sugar drinks into low Earth orbit on a space shuttle Challenger mission. However, astronauts were banned from showing the cans on TV to avoid tainting NASA with advertising.
Coca-Cola and Pepsi took their rivalry into the great beyond. In 1985, modified cans carried both companies' fizzy sugar drinks into low Earth orbit on a space shuttle Challenger mission. However, as..
